Torpedo.



L. S. ROSS.

TORPEDO.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 12, 1912, 1,059,766. Patented Apr. 22, 1913.

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fronts' s. Ross, or nnwronvrrinn', MASSACHUSETTS.

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haract parts. p This invention relates to torpedoes, and

more pi-irticularly to that class thereof #ated to be secured upon arail and to'be exploded .by the wheels of a train. l'. Y i

ln order that the principle of the invention may be readily understood,l have disclosed a singleembodiment thereof in the accompanying drawing,wherein- Fieure. l 1sr a' )lan vievv of the blankV Ktvheref.rom thetorpedo embodying my in- A vention preferably made; lig. 2 is a planvievv' the complete torpedm'the torpedo securing means being partiallybroken away glig. Bis an underneath plan vievv thereof; Fig. is an endelevationv thereof; Fig, -is a long?.tndinalY vertical l central sectionthereof 6 is a vienY partially in plan nd part, Llly in longitudinaltransverse section of a' sliglitlyumodilied form of my invention is anend elevation thereof; Fig. S is a. longitudinalcent-ral verticalsectioirthereofgigs. 9 and l0 are respectively an edgofvievv and a sideelevation of the piece constitutngv the end Walls of the torpedo; Fig.l1 is a view partially in plan and partially-in longitudinal transversesection of a still further form of the invent-ion; Fig. 12 is anunderneath plan thereof; Fig. 18 is an lend elevation thereof; Fig. 1stis a longi tndinal'vertical central section thereof; and

' Fig. is a 'view similar to Fig. S but representing the reverseposition of the end Walls of the torpedo.

An important obj ect of my invention is to provide al railway torpedo ofsimple and cheap butk effective construction which may be readilysecured upon the rail and which shall be of' non-dying? construction,thus eliminating all danger.

ln accordance with the preferred form of my invention. l form thetorpedo casing of a single piece of material, such as hard fiber ortoughpaper.

ln Fig. .1, I have shown the blank from which preferably the torpedo isformed.

Specicationof Letters Patent.

i Therein it is represented as composed of the -euterpbottom portion l,the top port-ion 2, the inner bottom portion 3 and the end portions 4.-,.3. The shape of ,these portions of the single integral blank may bealtered Within the scope of my invention. Preferrectangular, vthe topportion '2 being preferably of slightly greater width than the bottomportions l and 3 for the 'etl'ective recep tion and' securing-inposition of the end portions 4, 5, here shovvn as having tlanges'notched ati '7 7 to permit the conformation of the flanges to the top 2;Profe ably the blanlr is transversely crimped along the lines 8-S ofitstop, so as to provide the sloping ,sides 9 9, thus giving the completedtorpedo a trapezoid form. if desired, however, the torpedo maybe'arc-shaped in end elevation. Preferably the outer bottom portion l isalso crimped along the lines 10, 10 to provide therebetween a shallowgroove for the reception'of the securing strap 11, which may be of anysuitable character,

strip adapted to extendvtransversely of the rail and to have its endsengage beneath the upper flanges thereof.4 Herein I have represented thesecuring means il as extending in such a direction that the end Walls L5 are the rail, but. if desired the securing means may extend yin adirection at right angles to that shown, in vvhiclicase the end walls4:, 5 will extend transversely of the rail. Preferably the securingstrip llA is positioned between the inner and outer bottoni portions l,2, as most clearly represented in F ig. 5. The explosive compositionreceived Within the casing is ofany suitable character, such, 'forexample, -as chlorate of potash, sulfur the ingredients.v The blank ofthe casing is folded into the form described, ithe detonat# ingcomposition being placed therein at a suitable step in the folding ofthe blank, and 'thereupon the blank is secured in folded position. by asuitable cement, 'glue or other adhesive, which is preferably'applied tothe adjacent faces of the'inner, and outer bot-- toms l, 2 and theflanges of the end Walls 4,

sand or similar, material upon the outer face rammed apnea, isis.-Application led January 12, 1912. Serial No. 670,739.A i

such, for example, as a lead or vspring steelI in substantialparallelism with the sides of and charcoal with or Without Va, grittycom-I position to secure the effective ignitionrof" 5. If desired,'I mayprovide a coating ofably, however, each of them is substantially l ofthe bottom 1 to assistin preventing dis- 110 placement of thetorpedofrom the rail, and preferably the entire torpedo is Waterproofed,as by' dipping the same when coinpleted in paraifin or some othersuitable substance.

In Fi 6 to 1() inclusive, I have shown a' slightly different form of myinvention.

wherein the blank from Awhich the torpedo casing is formed is devoid ofend-wallsv Preferably the lblank is composed of theportion's 1, 2, 3represented in Fig. 41, and in addition I provide two separate end wallsor pieces 12, 1 3, which are substantially the 'same in form as thewalls 4, 5, excepting that 'they are provided with a. flange 13|'separate end pieces 12, 12 are secured inl place, as by coatingtheirflanges 13 with/a. suitable adhesive.

That foi-in of my invention shown Figs. 11 to 14: 'di'ersfrbm that shownin' l' Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive or that shown in Figs.

6 to 10 inclusive preferably only in that the securing band 18 extendsoutside of the portion 19 of the bottom through the greater portion ofthe length of the torpedo, and then passesA through slits formed in thebottom portions and in the flanges 2 0 of the end walls 21. In thismanner, I not only more effectively secure the strip or band 19, butImore effectively secure the end walls 21 in position. Preferably,however, also employ some suitable adhesive to assist in securing theend walls 21 in position. "As above indicated, that form of my inventionshown in Figs. 11 lto 14 may be employed either with separate end walls12 or walls 4 5 integral -with the body of the blank.

That forni of my invention shown in Fig. 15 differs from that form shownin Fig. 8 only in that the end walls 22 are reversed in position, theanges 23 thereof extending inwardly instead' of outwardly, as'replesented in Fig.l 8.

It will be observed that in eachof the forms of my invention hereinshown, the end walls are of material 'preferably uniform with thatconstituting the body of the Casing of the torpedo. In other words, I donotprovid end plugs or Stoppers of cenientitious or 0 ther friablematerial, but instead provideihin end-walls which -when the torpedo is.exploded are simply. blownas units from thev torpedo, orjpossibl'ysomewhat ruptured.l Owing to the fact that said end walls are composedof paper, hard fiber or-the 1 ike, no injury can be inflicted byl them,even though they are not disintegrat'ed by the force of the explosion.By providing the end walls of suitable fibrous material in sheet form, Inot only cheapen the torpedo, but l'provide a .construction whereby :thetorpedo casing may be assembled. V

' -It will 'be understood that in each of the forms of my invention, thesecuring means readily maybe of any suitable nature, and that it mayextend either in the direction, shown or in a direction at right anglesthereto,

and 'that the form or shape .of the -torpedo may be varied within thescope of my in -v ventionr j It is evident that in certain forms of myinvention, theform of theV blank -may be 1 changed or modified, so as topresent-va' double top and 4a single bottom ineinber, in which case thet\ vo.members of the top will be adhesively secureditogether. It will beobsei'yed that the blank is crimped along the linesvof `union of the topand bottom members, so that 'the blank may be readily By crimpv rolledor folded into posit-ion. ing the top member. .of the blank, I provide atorpedo hav-ingwell dened' sloping walls extending transversely oftherail and up which the wheel more effectively rides. While the twosloping portions of the top may be prolonged so as to meet at a sharpangle, I' preferably space them by a fiat portion as illustrated, thussecuring a' more effective ignition of theA composition. The crimpingofthe blank along the lines of union of the bottom and top also serresto 'strengthen the torpedo at-thesepoints and to prevent prematurevrupture there-at as is likely to occur when the 'torpedo is .ofarcshaped forni in cross section. It is evident that the blank may bestamped into the shape shown in Fig'. .1 at one operation, thuscheapenin'g the cost of the torpedo and-that by providing the describedsheet like end Walls, I also very considerably enlargethe capacity ofthe torpedo.

It isevident that the -end walls if flanged need not in all cases benotched, but that they may be fashioned in any suitable manner.Preferably the said end walls are of the same material as the body. andin any event are of comparatively thin sheet like material.

`The securing strips of suitable charac- 4ter may "be fastened to thetorpedo body in any suitable manner otherwise than as shown, as, forexample. by positioning them transversely of the body upon the exteriorof the bottom wall and thon cen'ienting thereagainst and onto thebottoni Wall an additional .strip ofipapei', hard 122.5"

fiber or other material, preferably "similarito thatjof which thetorpedobody is formed.

Each end. wall ofthe torpedo casing constitutes a rigid truss', so thatthe casingeffec tively resists the very considerable pressure to -whichthe torpedo is necessarily subject-I odin' storage or transportation.This truss like action of the ends is present to an even greater degreeAwhenthe ends are secured by sealing. Furthermore each of the 'ends ispreferably provided with a lip orflange 6 jwhichf thus provides apressure resista-ntsealing lip. Moreover, the width of each lip issuiicient to prevent, when the lip is sealed in position, the entranceof moisture int'o the casing. It will be observed that each end 'extendsfrom the bottom member of the casingina direction at right anglesthereto and that when-sealed to the top member of the casing the ends.are normal to both the top and bottom.. lThus the truss like action ispreserved. I have so proportioned theI length 'of the torpedo casing tothe width thereof that. the truss like -action of the sealed ends isdistributed and maintained -throughout the area ofthe casing, so thatthe whole casing is substantially rigid and sult by making the bottommernberv 3 ofthe In other mitted` from the cnds vto the mid-length.

'effectively resists the pressure to which they are necessarilysubyected l1n transportatlon or In' storage. Preferably I. secure thlsrev portions of ,thecasingf :The truss like action.

of the ends is'of greatimportance.

The .torpedo'casing is filledwith the deton'ating material in thefollowing-manner:

. One of the ends 4 or 5 is sealed. in position as described, and thenthe detonatingma-te- Arial'fis packed into the casing throughtheopposite open end. To effectively pack a torpedo in this manner, it isessential that the 4closed end be secured strongly enoughv to resist thepacking pressure. After the detonating material has been packed into thetorpedo,'the opposite end is sealed to the top and arigid structure issecured. So rigidis the torpedo because of the employment of the trussends that AI am enabled to employ Va detonating composition in a looseor powdered form instead ofmolding it, as, has

heretofore been largelypractised. This effects a saving in themanufacture 'of the torpedo, The powdered form of the detonatingcomposition is, however, exceedingly sensitive to friction, and were notthe sealed casing rigid throughout its entire extent, `the pressure towhich the torpedo casings are subjected when theYT are packed forstorage or `transportation would explode them or rende them gravelyliable to such explo- Sion... c

.I .am the first so far as I am aware so to proportion the dimensions ofa railway torpedo co-mposed of a single piece that a rigid structure issecured through theaction of truss 4Ilike ends. ft will furthermoreV beobserved that each of fthe ends is unitary and ,nninterrupted, thussecuring the maximum -eiiect of the truss action of the'ends'. It willfurthermore be observed that the sealing :edge of each end isofrelatively short extent in the preferred embodiment of the invention,namely, that wherein the edges are integral with the bottom, thusavoiding a joint at the bottom.

Owing to the rigid nature of the torthe-,loaded torpedoes with extremecare for storage or transportation, because Vthey are:

not. liable to explode except when subject- A oneepiece railway or'liketorpedoiof, 'to'ugh, stiff librous, non-flying material comprising a'folded,fsheetlike, unitary casing of non-nioldedform consisting cfabottom member and a top-member and upright end walls f constituting4rigid transverse trusses extending atright angles from one of saidmembers and engaging the inner face of and sealed' to the other member,the

length of the. folded casing being so proportionedto the length of thetruss `ends that the 'truss support of the ends is distributed andmaintained throughout the area of the casing, and the latter when sealedis substantially rigid and non-collapsible under pressure incident topacking and storage; a suitable detonating composition within saidcasing and torpedo positioning means. `2. A one-piece railway or liketorpedo of tough, stili' fibrous, non-flying material comprising afolded, sheet-like, unitary casing of non-molded form consisting of asubstantially square bottom member, an oblong top member and upright endwalls constitn ting rigid` transverse trusses extending unitarily atlright angles from one of Said members and engaging the inner face ofand scaled to the other member. the sealed ras; ing being substantiallysquare in longitudinal cross section. whereby the truss supportof theends is distributori and maintained throughout the area of the casingand whereby the zarter when sealed is substantially rigid andnon-collapsible under pres- Ifao sure incident to package and storage',a suit- 'vable detonating composition within said ,upi'ight end Wallsconstituting transverse,

rigid trusses extending at right angles from one of said members, eachof said ends have, ing a. pressure resistant lip or flange to uengagethe inner face of and secured to the opposite member, said endsbeing of v tioned to thelength of the truss ends that i' vtough,fibrous, non-dying material, the

length of the folded casing being so proporthe truss support ofthe',ends is distributed .and maintained throughout the area of the casing,and the latter when 'secured isA substantially rigid landnon-,collapsible under pressure' incident to packing and' storage;

a suitable detonating4 'composition Within said casingvand torpedosecuring means.

' +L.' AL one-piece railway or like torpedo of 1 tought, stiff fibrous,non-dying material comprising a folded, sheet-like, unitary oas- -ing ofnon-molded form Consisting of a' bottom member, a top member and uprightend Walls integrally extending from the bot- .tom `member at rightangles thereto andv having at their upperedges pressure resist.- antsealing lips to engage the inner face of said top member; said endsconstituting rigidtransverse trusses and the length of the' foldedcasing being'so 'proportioned to the'l length of the said truss endsthat the truss .support of said 'ends is distributed and ymaintainedthroughout the area of the casing, andthe latter -When secured issubstantially rigid and non-collapsible under.

pressureJ incidentl to packing and storage; a suitable detonatingvcomposition Within said casing, and torpedo positioning means.

5. A one-piece railway or like torpedo of tough, stitl' fibrous,non-dying material comprising a folded, -sheet-like unitary Cas` ing ofnon-molded form consisting of a bottom member and a to-p member andupright end Walls constituting rigid transverse trusses and extendingunitarily from the bottom member at right angles thereto and engagingthe 'inner face of and sealed. at their upper edges to the top member,said end Wallseach being of unitary, uninterrupted formation; a suitabledetonating composition wit-hins'aid casing, and torpedo positioningmeans.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my -nanie to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

Louis s.A Ross.

'Witnessesy ROBERT' H. KAMMIER, F. IRENE CHaNDmR.

